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Celebrating the Magna Carta in Wales with Cadw

Celebrating the Magna Carta in Wales with Cadw

Friday 13 March 2015

William Marshal's contribution to changing the face of history celebrated at Cilgerran Castle and Chepstow Castle

Chepstow Castle

Cilgerran Castle

Chepstow Castle

Cilgerran Castle

Chepstow Castle

In 1215, in a field in Runnymede, a charter was sealed by King John which changed the face of history – the Magna Carta. One man who was present at the sealing of Magna Carta, and whose name appears along with his son, was one William Marshal - ‘the Greatest Knight’, Earl of Pembroke and Chepstow and later Regent of England.

In celebration of this momentous occasion, Sunday 29th March will see the launch of a series of events and activities by Cadw who will be marking the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta in 2015 at two of its sites – the castles at Chepstow and Cilgerran, both of which were strategically important to William Marshal.

Willow artists Caroline Gregson and Michelle Cain have been commissioned to create larger-than-life sculptures depicting William Marshal for Chepstow and Cilgerran respectively and these will be unveiled at the launch.

An online trail on the Cadw website will encourage visitors to follow the story of Magna Carta across twelve south Wales sites that have connections with the Marshal family.

The celebrations have been made possible by the awarding of a grant by the Magna Carta Trust’s 800th Anniversary Commemoration Committee and will serve to highlight and profile William Marshal’s contribution to this world famous event.

Ken Skates, Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism said, “William Marshal is often a forgotten figure who played an important part in medieval history, and these events will allow visitors to Wales to learn more about this great man and his connection with Wales and the Magna Carta.”

The launch will take place at 2pm on Sunday 29th March at Chepstow and Cilgerran Castles.